Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The holidays are here again. Weren't they just here a couple of months ago? No? Well ok time is moving a lot faster the older I get so I guess it just seems like that. So what are you drinking for the holidays this year? Anything special? I found a bottle of 42 year old scotch of an off brand that I never heard of for sale for about $169.00 or so and I have been wrestling with myself whether to buy it or not. As you may know the usual price for scotch over 40 years is closer to $10,000.00 than $200.00. I am left with the logic of the situation. Either it is a very poor bottle of scotch that others have tasted and no one will buy due to its undrinkability or its cheap because no one ever heard of that brand perhaps a private label put out by an independent bottler. So one either gets an outstanding bottle of scotch for a great price OR one gets a really lousy bottle of scotch in which case the price is way too high. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Of course there is no other way for me to ever get a 42 year old bottle of scotch except to take this type of risk. Right now this moment I am leaning toward taking the risk. Ordering perhaps a day or two before Christmas and taking delivery between Christmas and New Years.Moving on to the next topic now. We seem to be awash in a sea of spirits these days. While I think that is a very good thing it is almost overwhelming. In the last 20 years we went from having only 1 or 2 choices for a single malt scotch in a bar or eating establishment to having 30,40, or more choices. Liquor stores the size of supermarkets have sprung up around the nation stocking a wonderful selection of whisky, wine, beer and other spirits. It used to be I could not find a pint of Guinness for sale anywhere and thank the all mighty now I can get a pint in many locations within a few miles of my home. When I was a kid all we had were the usual American beers to choose from, Bud, Miller, Pabst, and maybe a few regionals like Coors, Fall City, Berger, Rolling Rock, or Lone Star. Now we have hundreds of micro breweries making world class beers and they are plentiful and available. Wine has exploded! Once upon a time all one could get was California wine and maybe some French wine. Today the worlds wine supply is literally at your beck and call. You can find wine from dozens of countries and most of it is all very good. At least in this respect, Life is much better now than it was just 20-30 years ago. Your choices are almost unlimited and those putting out poor products cannot compete with the tidal wave of excellent beer, wine and whisky that surrounds us.If you were searching for something to be thankful for, there is a good starting place. So like Scrooge, enjoy being visited by three spirits tonight. But you don’t have to wait for the clock to strike one to enjoy your first spirit. Maybe 5 PM? And you don’t have to fear the last one, just maybe stop at 3. Enjoy. All the best to all of you.